31: Liking (3)

She finally stepped out of the car, clutching the umbrella the driver had sold her, shielding the cake box with her school uniform jacket, and began to walk into the rain.

Before long, with every ten meters Ye Xiangwan walked, she became more convinced of one thing: in her past life, she must have committed some grave offense against the heavens.

The wind and rain grew increasingly violent as she moved. Eventually, the umbrella she held became nothing more than a useless decoration, as the rain lashed against her face and head.

"Damn it."

Ye Xiangwan could not help but let out a low curse.

She raised her hand to push back her hair, confirmed her direction, and continued to trudge forward, numb. The road was incredibly flat and wide, with not a single building in sight to seek shelter from the rain. She was thoroughly soaked, drenched to the bone.

She simply continued her mechanical, head-down trudge, to the point where she didn't even stop when she vaguely heard someone calling her name.

"Ye Xiangwan!"

The voice became clearer and was quite familiar—the same voice that was noisy yet pleasant to hear, trailing behind her five days a week.

Ye Xiangwan looked up with some effort, wiped the rainwater from her face, and squinted. She saw a dark figure running toward her, his face filled with unconcealable anxiety and panic. He opened a black umbrella over her.

"Are you crazy? Why didn't you answer your phone? Don't you know how to call a cab in this kind of downpour? If it was too much trouble to walk here, why didn't you just go home? Where did that brilliant brain of yours go at a time like this?!"

The barrage of words spilled out, and the speaker didn't even pause to take a breath.

Ye Xiangwan blinked away the rain clinging to her eyelashes. She parted her lips, but in the end, she said nothing in the way of questioning or resentment. She had already endured enough when she went home today; it was all meaningless now.

She lifted her school uniform jacket, which had become heavy and waterlogged, pushed the cake box toward Feng Jinyan, and then held out her palm—marred by red marks from the bag's straps—and said coldly, "The key."

Dark gray clouds pressed down upon the sky. Nothing could be heard but the sound of the pouring rain. Her wet white T-shirt clung to her back, outlining her slender frame.

The sultry summer heat had persisted until the rain began to fall, and the temperature suddenly turned chilly.

"Are you cold?"

Feng Jinyan held the heavy cake box and cleared his throat. "Get in the car, quickly."

"I'm not cold."

Ye Xiangwan’s voice was colder than the biting wind. She repeated the same question: "Where is the key?"

Feng Jinyan stared at her arms, which were still slick with rainwater and covered in goosebumps from the cold.

Ye Xiangwan pursed her lips and used her jacket to cover her arms without a word. "Give me the key."

Feng Jinyan reached out to gently wipe a droplet of water from the corner of her eye. "Actually... I don't have the key. I couldn't reach you earlier, and I didn't know what was going on, so I just thought I’d come here and... wait for a while..."

Feng Jinyan’s voice trailed off under the glare of Ye Xiangwan's angry eyes.

He didn't actually have the key. And she had trusted him so much.

Feng Jinyan knew that lying wasn't right, but for some reason, he just really wanted to get this girl's attention.

Ye Xiangwan remained silent, and he didn't continue. The two fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

Breaking the stifling quiet, Ye Xiangwan finally sighed and said, her tone filled with helplessness, "If you don't have the key, I have nowhere to stay."

"Come to my place first!"

He had expected her to refuse or struggle with the decision for a long time, but as soon as he spoke, she nodded. "Let's go."

Upon hearing this, Feng Jinyan’s eyes shone brightly in the damp, rainy air. He very noticeably tilted the umbrella toward Ye Xiangwan.

"No need," Ye Xiangwan said, pushing it back with the back of her hand. "I’m already soaked through anyway."

But Feng Jinyan still kept the umbrella tilted toward her.

They sat on either side of the car’s back seat. Feng Jinyan glanced at Ye Xiangwan, who was staring out the window, and shifted slightly toward her. But when she suddenly turned her head, he looked away, keeping a straight face.

Ye Xiangwan twisted the hem of her jacket, and after a long while, she spoke: "If you want to apologize, just say it."

The driver’s back stiffened. He had likely never heard anyone speak to his young master like that and was taken aback. But what shocked him even more was...

"I..."

The young master of the Feng family furrowed his handsome brows, bowed his head slightly, and began to fidget with the car mat with his feet.

After a long moment, he gave the innocent mat a firm kick and decided to just give up. "I thought you wouldn't come. After all, you didn't reply to me and wouldn't pick up my calls, so..."

Feng Jinyan’s gaze fell on Ye Xiangwan’s face. The stray hairs on her forehead were stuck to her fair skin, and water flowed down in strands—some sliding to her delicate chin before dripping off, others tracing her neck and collarbones, disappearing into her soaked clothes. She seemed cold to the very core, even her breath appearing chilled.

"...I'm sorry."

It was the first time in his life that Feng Jinyan had apologized. In truth, he had planned to go find her, but he hadn't said it aloud.

He sighed and pulled a large handful of tissues from the dispenser, stuffing them into Ye Xiangwan’s hand. She didn't move.

Her shoulders slumped slightly, her appearance both cold and pitifully helpless.

Feng Jinyan gritted his teeth and, with somewhat clumsy movements, raised his hand to help her wipe away the rainwater.

Finally, when the countless bits of shredded tissue began to stick to her face, Ye Xiangwan couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Feng Jinyan’s wrist and pulled it down. "I'll do it myself."

Feng Jinyan felt a pang of sadness when his hand was pulled away, but upon seeing Ye Xiangwan with tissue scraps all over her face and hair, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Finding him laughing, Ye Xiangwan glared at him. The young master, now the recipient of her glare, squeezed the half-wet tissues in his hand and asked, "Are you still angry? I..."

"Young Master, we're home."

The driver coughed softly, likely unable to watch any longer. After all, given his young master's status, there was no need for him to lower his attitude so much for any young lady.

Feng Jinyan cast a cold glance at the driver, who was left bewildered by his master's look.

Had he said something wrong?

Feng Jinyan stepped out of the car first.

"Oh, Young Master, you're finally back."

A butler, looking to be in his forties, ran out with an umbrella, his voice anxious. "In this heavy rain, you... wait? This young lady..."

Ye Xiangwan had just finished cleaning up the tissue scraps on the seat and opened the door to get out.

"Young Master, did you go to pick up a friend?"

The butler stepped forward with the umbrella to receive Ye Xiangwan. "How did you get so soaked? Come inside quickly, I'll find some clothes for you."

Ye Xiangwan looked at Feng Jinyan, who was waiting for her at the entrance.

A friend... was she?

She didn't know; after all, she had never had one before.

So... did it count?

Ye Xiangwan took the clothes the butler had found and headed to the bathroom. With a sharp "click," the door locked, and the rustling of clothes soon followed.

Feng Jinyan returned to his bedroom to change into loungewear before heading back to the guest room on the first floor.